Bengo4.com, Inc., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Ltd. and Child Support Inc. Enter into Three-Company Partnership to Encourage Wider Use of Child Support Payment Guarantee Service

Bengo4.com, Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Taichiro Motoe, Representative Director, President and CEO, Lawyer; hereinafter, the “Company”) announces that it has entered into a three-company partnership with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Shinichiro Funabiki, President, Chief Executive Officer) and Child Support Inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Yusuke Sasaki, Representative Director) to encourage the wider use of the Child Support Payment Guarantee Service designed to ensure that child support payments between divorced parents are implemented smoothly.

■ Background behind the three-company partnership

In Japan, 28.1% of single-mother households and 8.7%*1 of single-father households receive child support. With less than half of households making child support arrangements, it is becoming a social issue. The amendment to the Civil Code*2 which will come into effect on April 1, 2026 is set to impose measures that prioritize children’s best interests, such as the clarification of the responsibilities of parents and the revision of the options for ensuring child support obligations are fulfilled.

People have consulted with the Company’s Legal Consultation for Everyone service*3 approximately 80,000 times regarding child support, which indicates there is growing demand for effective solutions to this social issue.

The three-company partnership aims to eliminate the non-payment of child support by providing a new form of support and helping build social infrastructure which universally protects the rights of children.

*1: FY2021 Nationwide Survey on Single-Parent Households published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on December 26, 2022

*2: Ministry of Justice’s statement on the Amendment to the Civil Code (Law of Parent and Child) and Other Related Acts

*3: Free legal consultation website where lawyers respond to inquiries. People have consulted the website about legal matters a total of approx. 1,450,000 times.

■ Details of Child Support Payment Guarantee Service

The Child Support Payment Guarantee Service set up by the three-company partnership between Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Child Support and the Company is designed to ensure the cyclical child support process involving the payment of child support, its receipt, and preparation for contingencies.

The goals of this comprehensive service are to create an environment where children’s lives and rights continue to be protected even after divorce, reduce the mental and administrative burdens associated with the receipt of child support payments, and provide compensation when child support is not paid.

＜Key Characteristics of the Service＞

(1) Effective method of managing and enforcing child support payments in line with the revised law

The knowledge of child support payment guarantee service provider Child Support was used to develop this service in response to the amendment of the Civil Code which will come into effect on April 1, 2026, which is set to change the child support payment environment. Specifically, Child Support centrally manages the automatic withdrawal (automatic payment) and transfer of child support payments, instead of leaving these responsibilities to the people concerned to reduce the mental and administrative burdens associated with the receipt of child support payments over a long period of time, and to lay a solid foundation for the prevention of non-payment.

(2) Compensation adequately and sustainably backed by a major non-life insurance company

The scheme takes advantage of the insurance for child support payment guarantee service providers offered by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. In this case, the insured company is Child Support. When a child support payment is missed, Child Support pays it and collects the money from the non-paying parent as necessary. Insurance covers any risks associated with the payment guarantee provided by Child Support to ensure the sustainability and stability of the service.

(3) Using a vast amount of consultation data to meet people’s needs.

Via the Legal Consultation for Everyone service it provides, the Company has consulted with people approximately 80,000 times regarding child support, and this has aided the Company in the creation of this solution addressing the issues that arise between divorced parents. People who are most in need of support can access information via one of the largest platforms in Japan.

Click the link below for more information and to request a consultation
https://cycle-youikuhihosho.childsupport.co.jp/

■ Overview of the three-company partnership

The Child Support Payment Guarantee Service is a new service in which Child Support provides people seeking a divorce by agreement (an alternative dispute resolution method in divorce proceedings) with legal support and a child support payment guarantee, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance covers a portion of the damages incurred by Child Support in the event of non-payment, and Bengo4.com makes information available on its platform and introduces divorced parents to the service.

■ Role of each company

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance
- Provision of insurance customized for child support payment guarantee service providers

Child Support
- A credit insurance for guarantee institutions policyholder and an insured company
- Conclusion of indemnity contracts with debtors, and guarantee contracts with creditors
- Request for payment in the event of the non-payment of child support
- Child support payments to creditors

Bengo4.com
- Makes information available on Bengo4.com, one of the largest legal consultation platforms in Japan, to people interested in the child support payment guarantee service

■ About Bengo4.com: https://www.bengo4.com/corporate/service/bengo4/

Bengo4.com is one of the largest legal consultation platforms in Japan as more than 62%*4 of Japanese lawyers are registered users. The website’s content is designed to increase people’s access to justice. It includes a lawyer search feature, the Legal Consultation for Everyone service (a website where only lawyers can respond to questions), and Bengo4.com News, a media outlet featuring lawyers explaining current affairs.

*4: Calculated based on the number of lawyers as of October 1, 2025

■ About Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Ltd.: https://www.ms-ins.com/ 

Head office 3-9 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Date of establishment October 21, 1918

Representative Shinichiro Funabiki, President, Chief Executive Officer

Business description

1. Non-life insurance business (insurance underwriting and investment)

2. Act as an agent or administrative agent for other insurance companies related to the insurance business

3. Debt guarantee

4. Operation and management of defined contribution pension plans

5. Contractor of mandatory automobile liability insurance

URL https://www.ms-ins.com/

■ About Child Support Inc.: https://childsupport.co.jp/

Head office 3-3-6 Nihonbashi-honcho, Chuo-ku, Wakamatsu Building, 7th floor, Tokyo

Date of establishment March 1, 2023

Representative Yusuke Sasaki

Business description Provision of legal support to people seeking divorce by agreement (an alternative dispute resolution method in divorce proceedings) and child support payment guarantees

URL https://childsupport.co.jp/